| ■ J-PARC News - July 2014 (Issue #111) |
| The J-PARC Center held this symposium at the Tsukuba International Congress Center, starting with a public lecture entitled "Unveiling the Mysteries of the Universe" on July 12, and continuing for five days until the 16th. The first speaker at the public lecture was Dr. Ulrich Walter, a professor at the Technical University of Munich who became the first German astronaut after obtaining his doctorate for neutron research. He gave a talk entitled "Traveling Space with Einstein." Next was a lecture "Unlocking Secrets of the Universe by Accelerated Protons!" by Dr. Masaru Tada (Assistant Professor, KEK) . Dr. Tada is engaged in research on neutrino particles at J-PARC, and he talked about the attractions of neutrino research. Both Japanese and non-Japanese lecture attendance was 212 persons in total. The main symposium, which began on the 13th, covered five fields: accelerators, particle and nuclear physics, materials and life science, nuclear transmutation, and safety and advanced technology for intensity frontier. There were a total of 137 oral presentations, including 13 keynote lectures, and 245 poster presentations. Participants had lively discussions of topics such as previous research results at J-PARC, state-of-the-art research results in related fields, and directions for technology, safety and science for 1 MW operation in the future. Including the Satellite Workshop on the 16th, there were approximately 550 participants from 20 countries (of which about 65 were researchers and students belonging to overseas research institutions) . At the J-PARC Center, we plan to hold this symposium periodically in the future. |
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| ●Visit by Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture Sports, Science and Technology |
| On July 7, Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) , visited the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and inspected J-PARC and other facilities. At the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) , the Division Head, Dr. Masatoshi Arai, provided an overview of the facility, and explained the experimental instruments, experiments using neutron beams, research results, and other topics. In addition, the Leader of the Muon Science Section, Dr. Yasuhiro Miyake, explained experiments using muon beams. After the inspection, the minister received questions from the press, and commented that "J-PARC is a facility which is effectively used by numerous private companies, research institutions, and other users, and it will contribute to scientific and technical innovation based on industry-academia collaboration." |
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| ●Transmutation Experimental Facility Technical Advisory Committee (T-TAC) |
| In recent years, the public has shown an increasing interest in transmutation technology as a means of reducing the volume, hazard and environmental impact of radioactive waste. The Basic Energy Plan decided on by the Cabinet this spring describes promotion of the development of hazard reduction technology for wastes using accelerators, and the Working Group for Evaluating Partitioning and Transmutation Technologies, which was established last year by the MEXT, has also presented an interim report clearly indicating approaches for promoting research. From the first stage of the High Intensity Proton Accelerator Project, J-PARC has proposed construction of a Transmutation Experimental Facility (TEF) for carrying out testing and research on transmutation using accelerator driven systems (ADS) . Recently, a new Transmutation Experimental Facility Technical Advisory Committee (T-TAC) was established, comprised of seven experts from both inside and outside Japan, and the committee met for first time on July 10-11. At this meeting, Dr. Yujiro Ikeda, Director of the J-PARC Center explained the purpose of holding the committee meeting, and then reports were given by persons in charge of various aspects of the TEF construction plan, regarding the general nature of the facility, design of the main systems, and other topics. At the end of the meeting, Chairman Schyns provided an assessment of the plan, as well as many recommendations and points of advice. On the afternoon of the second day of the meeting, the committee visited the linac downstream area where the proton beam is extracted to the experimental facility, and the planned site for TEF construction. |
 
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| On June 25, joint accident response training was conducted by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) , J-PARC Center, and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) , based on a scenario involving abnormal release of radioactive material in the Neutrino Experimental Facility. Training was carried out with the aim of achieving more rapid and accurate communication of information by introducing a teleconferencing system in addition to the previous telephone and fax links with the command post at the accident site, and issues such as the workability of the new method of information communication, and points requiring improvement, were confirmed.In addition, on July 9 accident response training was carried out by persons involved with the MLF, the Hadron Experimental Facility, and safety management at the J-PARC Center, assuming a scenario of fire at each facility. |
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| (1) At the linac, work has been started on replacement of the first stage accelerator section in the tunnel. (2) In preparation for 500 kW operation of the 3 GeV synchrotron (RCS) , which is scheduled to start in the fall of this year, test operation was conducted on June 28-30 in order to reduce beam loss in terms of the number of particles, which is comparable to output of the RCS. As a result of adjusting various parameters, the loss was successfully minimized up to the beam output corresponding to 573 KW. (3) At the MLF, preparatory work has been started for replacement of the mercury target container. Furthermore, at the muon experimental instrument of the same facility, the shield on the top of the tunnel was moved in order to replace the new designed target. |
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| ●Science Tour (July 12, Tsukuba City) |
| With the support of Tokai Village, the J-PARC Center organized a science tour for junior and senior high school students living in Tokai Village to help develop their interest in science. During this tour, the students visited JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and participated in the public lecture entitled "Unveiling the Mysteries of the Universe" delivered at the J-PARC International Symposium. While the participants were traveling by bus, the J-PARC public relations advisor, Shinichi Sakamoto, discussed the "wonders of the moon" and gave them a quiz on that topic. For the participants, it was a day of engaging with the universe. |
 
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| On July 2 and 16, meetings were held to explain the fiscal 2014 project plans of the JAEA to the resident's association of the region adjoining the J-PARC area. Various topics were reported regarding J-PARC, such as the current status of accident response, developments in the current fiscal year, and achieved results. The attendees said they wanted to hear more about research at J-PARC that may be useful in daily life, and would like to have foreign researchers at J-PARC participate in events such as meetings of the resident's association. At the explanatory meeting on the 2nd, the participants toured the J-PARC facilities. They were guided through the MLF and Neutrino Experimental Facility, whose operation has resumed, and topics such as the situation at each facility and the nature of research being done were explained. |
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